Italian five-year bond yields surge to 14-year high

Italy sold €3bn of five-year bonds, the maximum target, at the highest yield in more than 14 years as Mario Monti seeks to form a new government.

The Rome-based Treasury sold the bonds to yield 6.29%, the highest since June 1997 and up from 5.32% at the last auction on 13 October. Demand was 1.47 times the amount on offer, compared with 1.34 times last month, according to Bloomberg. Yields on Italy's benchmark 10-year bond were 6.4% at 11.15am in Rome after the auction, down from a euro-era record of 7.48% on 9 November. Italy was also forced to pay 6.087% on one-year bills at an auction on 10 November, the highest in over 14 years, amidst the worsening European debt crisis. Monti, an economist and former adviser to Goldman ...